PS4 user interface pictures show the future of gaming

Those wondering what the menu system on the PS4 might look like need worry no further, as Sony has published pics of it in action.

Admittedly, they are subject to change, but they appear to be in line with the brief glimpses of UI we saw at Sony's New York PS4 event. Even more exciting, Sony has also sent Pocket-lint pics of the PS4 apps in action on smartphones and tablets.

The first picture - which appears to show the PS4's splash screen, or what you will get when you first turn the console up - gives us a few more clues to how the PS4 will work. Knack, one of the first PS4 games shown, is clearly loaded into the console's disc tray. The UI shows items you have been gifted from friends: meaning the PSN should now allow you and your contacts to share in-game content.

On top of this you can see trophies being given a mention as well as "new feeds", which relates to all the instant social sharing capabilities with which the console will launch.

These feeds consist of clips of video or pictures which you can share instantly on the PSN via the new console's controller, which has a dedicated share button.

There is also an image of live gameplay streaming, which is particularly interesting as it shows a video feed of whoever is playing in the bottom corner of the gameplay. This means, we can only presume, that the PS4 is going to support voice as well as video chat during live gameplay.

Even more impressive, is that it appears as if this will also stream to your smartphone, as a pic of the PS4 app in action shows a live video feed.

Profile pages have clearly had a rethink. They now show a picture of your, as well as showing what you are currently playing, with the ability to join in with the game straight from a profile page. You can see the profile page both on the console and in tablet form in the screens.

Finally we have a column-based news feed that appears to be showing everything your friends are getting up to as well as any recent social activity you have posted with the PS4, be it game videos or screens.

The pictures definitely show how much more of a social console the new PlayStation will be. They also give us an idea of much integration that share button is going to get with gameplay. Now all we need is to see the console.